Vexing
by LostSparrow
Summary: Briar Abney is a defiant Geordie who works alongside the cocky Scotsman, Montgomery Scott, on the Enterprise. Their days are spent arguing about quantum physics, which alcohol is better; ale or whiskey, and which one of them is the smarter engineer. Most of the time they hate each other, but sometimes, just sometimes, they manage to get along.
1. Chapter 1

Briar Abney is, perhaps, the most aggravating and infuriating person Montgomery Scott ever met. She's loud, has a thick Geordie accent, can down four shots of Jameson's in about six seconds and will go to her grave to prove Scotty wrong.

Scotty wishes he could say she was bad at her job and that she was a shitty engineer but she was far from that. Certainly, she didn't rival him. Did she come up with the transwarp beaming equation? Absolutely fucking not. But, on occasion when there's something wrong with the ship, she may get to the solution a few minutes before he does. And it bothers Scotty to no end.

Right now, she is sitting on a bench, a padd in her hand. Its 0400 hours, and most of the engineering crew are on their sleeping shift. Only a few stray, tired engineers are still up which include Scotty and Abney. Her long blonde hair is half-heartedly tied up, with a few strands falling in front of her pale eyes. She is glaring at the padd and swiping angrily, clearly not finding whatever answer she is looking for. Her grey engineering jumpsuit is only done up halfway, with the sleeves tied around her waist, and she's in her white undershirt, and she looks like the most dishevelled mess of an engineer he's ever seen.

Scotty smirks and saunters over, a grin plastered on his smug face and his hands tied behind his back. He leans against a control board when he reaches her.

"Anythin' ye need 'elp wit, Abney?" he asks.

She sighs and rolls her eyes, not even looking at him. "Nee, obviously," her accent is so thick that Scotty practically shudders. "I can do it," she grumbles as she glares at the padd. He snorts and leans over her shoulder, and before she can cover the padd he sees the problem.

"Somethin' wrong with one of the phaser arrays?" he asks as he reaches for the padd, grabbing it before she can swat his hand away.

"Give it back! Me mam could fix it faster than you would!" she snaps and tries to grab it but Scotty holds her arm away and looks at her notes.

"Haud yer weesht! Learn to speak properly first, then I'll give it back to ye." He responds, not looking at her while he reads the notes. Eventually he looks at her with another smirk. "Did ye check the emitters?" he asks.

"Wey aye, man!" She exclaims throwing her arms up. He's realized that her response means yes. "Course I did." She grumbles as she grabs the padd back.

"Naw, check again…" he says, gesturing to the padd. She looks down at the scan of the phaser array and to her horror, realizes she missed one- which must have been disabled when a small chunk of debris that was floating around the Alpha Centauri system and, of course, it crashed against the side of their beloved ship.

"Swore I checked 'em an' all," she sighs before looking around for the tools to fix the problem.

"Are ye going to say thenk ye?" he asks as he watches the grumpy girl stomp over to her toolbox.

"Nee, got a propa mess on me hands. Can't focus on you," she says and turns to him, flashing a dazzling smile before jaunting away.

Scotty stares after the defiant girl. She makes his blood boil, makes him want to rip his hair out and wants to eject her out of dorsal airlock. But, at the same time, the blonde girl challenges him and keeps him on his toes.

He hears a noise and looks up, past the brilliant white surfaces of the controls and the bustling engineers and sees Briar pulling on a pair of glasses and snapping at poor little Chekov to get out of the way as she prepares to fix the phaser array.

There have been a few times when Scotty and Briar didn't completely hate each other. The most recent one was during Khan's attack.

* * *

Briar is thrown over a metal railing as the Enterprise loses control its control and then starts hurdling towards Earth. She has a scream and looks up, seeing some poor girl dangling off a thin piece of metal. The metal gives way and the girl goes flying down, no doubt crashing to her death. Briar desperately throws her hand out, but the girl is too far away and flies past her. She doesn't have time to regain her balance before a former piece of control board comes tumbling down and crashes into the rail that's holding her up, and a second later she's falling. It's such a bizarre feeling, falling so quickly, and everything seems to blur. She's falling backside down, and maybe that's a blessing because she won't see whatever she'll crash into. All she sees is the light of the damaged ship lights and broken metal and hanging wires. Some of the wires have her dead crewmates dangling on them.

But then she feels someone harshly grab her leg, and she's pulled suddenly to a stop, and she comes swinging under a bridge and smashes her head on a metal. She screams and clutches her forehead and immediately feels blood starting to seep into her hair. With one yank, she's hauled up and placed on top of the railing. Black spots have exploded across her vision and she blindly tries to hit away whoever is touching her. Not being able to see I her worst fear, being in the dark forever frightens her.

"Awrite, hey. It's me, lass, it's me." He says and she recognises the accent.

"I- I can't see," she stutters and blinks rapidly, trying to make the black spots disappear.

"Scotty, we have to go!" she hears her Captain yell. She also hears Chekov say something unrecognizable in Russian. All around them, screams of their crewmates fill the air. She prays her vision will return so she can get to them. She knows Scotty and Kirk have a plan, so she knows she has to let Scotty go.

"Get outta 'ere. I'll be fine. Go!" she screams and looks blindly for his face. She only feels his hands on the side of her face, she hears him mumble stay safe before he's gone. They didn't hate each other then.

Afterwards, when he eventually found her again in the medical center on Earth where the injured crew were sent, they still didn't hate each other. Her vision had come back, but whilst she was crawling over to try and reach her friend, Mala, who was lying dangerously close to several exposed wires. She tried to reach her, but in that moment a piece of the wall had come tumbling and a large chunk of heavy material came falling and she only had time to roll away to keep it from crushing her torso, but her leg wasn't so lucky. The crushed and mangled flesh makes Scotty's stomach churn.

The girl's eyes are squeezed shut, most likely because they gave her a heavy sedative to help the pain. Her arms are draped over the side of the metal cot, and he reaches down and gently pushes them back. Suddenly, her weak hand takes his and she grips it, without opening her eyes. He leans against the wall but doesn't take her hand out of his.

They certainly didn't hate each other then.

After she woke up, and he left, it wasn't mentioned and they returned to their usual banter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Christmas in Yorktown.**

Briar gabs the shot glass with her right hand, and in the other is a bottle of vodka. She clumsily fills it to the rim and spills almost a matching amount on her hand.

"Ah, nae, fuck me." She mutters and licks off the excess before downing the shot quickly. She is already very drunk, but could not care less about it. Itzel comes stumbling into her hotel room, her white sparkly dress barely covering any of her flawless green skin. Her red hair is curled and pulled out of her face, adorned with crystal beads. Briar bets anything those will be either down a drain or on the dance floor by the end of the night. Itzel looks at the drunk Geordie and begins laughing hysterically before her high heels get caught on the edge of the elaborate white dresser and she tumbles to the ground, flashing Briar a glimpse at her pink thong while she does so.

"You're such a mess, Briar!" she roars and rolls over, pathetically reaching for the bottle of vodka they stole off Liya before she went to join her boyfriend for the holiday. It was Itzel who organised the whole event, a two day long drunk party which included herself, Briar, Jaxson, Jett, and Rylee. Jaxson and Rylee started a heated affair during their voyage which ended in disaster, but the Christmas alcohol seemed to bring them back together. They've disappeared together whilst the others were getting ready ad Jett bursts through the door, after searching for them for the pat half an hour.

"I give up!" he roars, before tripping over Itzel and falling face first on the expensive hotel carpet. His pale blue skin is sparkling, most likely from Itzel throwing a handful of glitter over his body earlier that evening. Briar rolls her eyes before returning to the mirror and trying to complete her makeup. Black liner smudges her top and lower lid, while nude lipstick smears her lips. With her black dress slipping too low, and one strap falling down her shoulder, she's a right mess.

The Enterprise and its crew has made a three day stopover in Yorktown, which happened to coincide with Christmas- for those of the crew who were from Earth and still celebrated the holiday. While many of the crew are with their families and friends happily cuddled up in their apartments spending time together, the stragglers are left to fend for themselves. So, that's why Itzel decided that the group of friends will just get drunk and celebrate a few days off of duties.

She reaches for her red high heels and slips them on her feet, grimacing in pain. Her two companions have finally pulled themselves up and are crawling towards the door- ready for another night out in the bars and clubs that litter Yorktown. They didn't get in till 7am this morning and Briar feels like she may pass out. She takes step and her heel buckles and she crashes to the carpet, vodka still in hand.

"Abney! You coming?" Jett screams from the door, he has one arm around Itzel who is trying to run to the elevator, ready for another night. She hears other voices from the hallway, belonging to Jaxson and Rylee.

"Aye, ye' just gan doon," she says, telling them to go down. "I'll catch up-yea?" she mumbles. Her drunk friends nod and run off, eager to enjoy the night. She drops to the floor, the room spinning. She could just suck it up and join her friends, but that's the last thing she wants to do. So she clumsily reaches up and grabs her communicator. She presses the button and waits for the response, staring at the spinning white pearl ceiling.

"Aye?" comes the answer.

"Scotty…" she murmurs before sighing heavily and shutting her lids. Why did she even call him?

"Briar? Hou'r ye? Ye sound blitzed." He says. He sounds drunk too.

"Can ye come owa? S'Chirstmas, and I feel in a fettle," she groans and rolls over, letting him know she's ill.

Scotty doesn't answer right away, but then she hears a sigh and an answer. "Aye. Where 're ye?"

She mumbles the address before rolling on her back. It seems like only seconds before she hears the door open. He stubs his toe and a loud curse fills the air.

"Merry Christmas, ya wanker." She laughs. Her eyes are still squeezes shut. She feels his hand on her shoulders and he gently shifts her upwards and drags her on to the large, silky mauve bed that's in the middle of the room.

"Heid doon arse up!" he groans as he finally shoves the drunk engineer on the bed. She giggles hysterically before throwing her feet up and tucking into a ball. "Fuck sakes," he mumbles before lying down beside her.

She pushes herself up on her elbow and looks at him, her wild, unkempt hair going every which way on the bed- and on him as well. Her blue eyes can't focus and Scotty knows she'll be in pain tomorrow. But she won't stop staring.

"Yer a right doylem, but I sorta want to kiss yee…" she mumbles. He opens his mouth to object, but it was too late. Her lips were on his and for a second, the taste of vodka, lipstick, and her smell was all he felt. By the time he came to his senses and shoved the drunk girl off, she was passed out. He stayed with her the whole night, making sure she didn't throw up on herself.

She never spoke a word on the kiss, and he doesn't think she remembers. But every so often, when she snaps at him over an engineering problem or smiles for just a little too long, he remembers that messy, Christmas kiss. He didn't hate her then.


	3. Chapter 3

Briar sits on a metallic work bench, watching a young Ensign Norcross reprogram her calculations for a new data emitter routed directly to the bridge. Norcross's first three attempts failed but perhaps this time it'll work. Forth time is the charm?

She raises her eyebrows as the Ensign fingers dance over the screen and she finally seems to finish her calculations. She steps back and holds her arms out, waiting for Briar's approval.

She snorts before shaking her head. "Haddaway man! I ain't checkin it. Yous' gan have to do it for yerself, if yer wantin' to be a capin' yer gan have to check it owa and know it propa well. Try it," she instructs as the Ensign chews her lip but nods and confidently hits the transmit button… Only to have a large error message flash on the screen. Norcross groans and smacks her head off the screen, and Briar laughs and stands up, leaving her to try again. She is happy because her shift is finally over, after fourteen hours. Typical shifts are only supposed to last twelve hours, but so often, the senior engineers stay longer. She is more than used to it, but she is just feeling tired.

She glances up and sees Scotty sitting on one of the chairs beside a control board, his feet propped up on the board and a steaming mug of coffee in his hands. His eyes are shut and he is breathing in the scent, smiling and looking at peace for once. Briar smirks before sauntering over to him silently, the leaping on the control board and seizes the coffee cup right out of his hand.

His eyes shoot open and the sudden movement unbalances him, and with a sputter and a topple he falls off the chair. The first thing he hears is her loud, belly laugh.

"Awa' an bile yer heid!" He screeches as he quickly scrams to his feet, but any words he says is lost over Abney's laughter and subsequent snorting. Most other people might be scared of getting fired, but Abney is too sure of herself to care. One of her major character flaws is her cockiness, according to Scotty. He is glaring at her as he shoves her feet off the chair and sits down again, grumbling about his lost coffee because Abney quickly chugged it down. She props her feet on his knee and glances at him, coaxing him at him, waiting to see if he reacts anymore. He rolls his eyes again before rubbing his eyes, and she can tell he is exhausted.

Seeing that, she frowns and regrets downing his coffee. "When are yee done yer shift?" She inquires as she feebly holds the silver mug, before turning and making her way over to the wall coffee machine they have installed beside their computers. She slides the coffee cup under the sensor and in seconds, a steaming brown stream of liquid comes into the cup, filling quickly. Both Scotty and herself drink black coffee she they're tired, so she quietly returns and places the warm cup into his awaiting hands, for which he nods his thanks.

"The noo, just had tae check tae wee ones," he murmurs and nods at the younger Ensigns who are looking like the Earth deers in headlights. He always checks on them before he leaves his shift, mainly because he is petrified someone will blow something up.

Briar chews on her lip before nodding to the sliding doors. "Come to me room for a cuppa?" She asks quietly and Scotty snorts, very loudly, before cocking his eyebrows and staring at her, clearly thinking she is joking.

"Seriously?" He quips and Briar's face falls and she immediately hops off the control board and spins towards the door, feeling embarrassed that he was so quick to reject the idea. He gets off the seat and follows her, but she doesn't turn around. "Abney!" He calls out, surprised at the woman's seemingly pissed off response.

"Yee being a proper workyticket, I should neva asked yee," she snaps out as she angrily walks through the brilliant white hallway, expressing her anger at the Scotsman who she "hates". She can't tell if she is genuinely angry at him, or just angry because of her exhaustion, or a bit of both. She has never been good at expressing her feelings and he knows that. She is storming through the hallways with such anger that people jump out of the way, because she is well known for her temper. Scotty doesn't back down and instead follows her right to her quarters and skips past her and into her room before she even has time to yell at him. He notes how her room is spilling with… flowers? Flowers are _everywhere_. Many are flowers from Earth, but some are also from other planets they have visited- which she must have snuck on the ship because technically the only specimens they're supposed to have on ship are for the scientists, and she also must have made her own way to dry freeze her flowers, permanently freezing them in time. Scotty is surprised at the fact that her room is absolutely bursting with colours. She almost looks embarrassed, and red suddenly fills her pale cheeks and he can swear her eye is twitching. She does not have people in her room… Ever.

"Haddaway man! Get oot!" She screeches and jumps at him, trying to throw him out, but he ducks out of her hands and holds his foot out, attempting to keep the blonde woman away.

"Nae! Yee invited me for a cuppa, sit doon like a propa lassie and talk to me." He insists and sits down on her tousled blue sheets, staring at her stubbornly, which goats her on. They are both incredibly competitive and she grimaces but finally shuts the door and stomps over to her little hot water dispenser, whilst grabbing two mugs. She drinks copious amounts of tea and her room is well stocked with the necessary needs. She makes the tea quickly before practically throwing it at his face, still expecting him to get up and leave.

He holds the bracing up in his hands before crossing his legs and letting out a smirk, happy he finally won over the stubborn blonde and finally getting her to be sort of friendly for once. "Thank ye. So, hoo are ye?" He asks. At the sound of him asking her how she was after all this trouble, she bites her lip before bursting out laughing. Her laugh isn't one of those quiet chuckles, it is a loud rumbling sound that echoes through the room. He smiles this time, instead of smirking. Sometimes they do like each other, sometimes.


End file.
